When I was 12, my father was admitted to the hospital and almost died many times in the successive months. He had 13 surgeries over the next few years, and I waited outside the O.R. for each one. He came home at some points, and that is when I would take care of him. He had a wound on his stomach that was left open, stretching from his right side to the left. I would change his dressing daily. I would irrigate and flush tubes running through his body. He had a colostomy bag for a while, I checked and changed that. I bathed my father. I would take him on walks; make sure he was fed and dressed. This is not to say I did this alone. But, I felt I needed to do whatever I could. So there I am, learning to be selfless, learning to put the needs of another before my wants and selfishness, learning to do dirty jobs with joy, because of who it was for, my dad. We had financial struggles during those times, and I learned to lay down pride to accept the blessings of others; learning that I truly was not self sufficient. I learned to do what had to be done, denying the aches of the body, and the bags of the eyes to accomplish what was needed. My father never feared death, but longed to see his savior. He never fully recovered, and we lost him awhile back. But, I do thank God for what I learned.
In that time, so many years ago, had anyone told me that God would use these things so I could do great things in His name, I would have balked. But here I am, nearly 21 years later, and I am looking ahead at my appointed task, and I can’t help looking back. I will care for people physically and spiritually. I will lay aside my desires for the sake of others. I will do things I do not like, for the sake of the recipient. I will accept the generosity of others. I will trust in God’s provision. I will deny my body. I will forgo sleep. I will not fear the death of my body. I will long for my savior. Had I not had this tragedy, I doubt I would have ever gone to Ukraine, much less made the plunge to church plant in Mukachevo. But, the Almighty used tragedy to bring about glory. To that I say: Happy New year, bring it on!